Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the long‑time Supreme Leader of Iran, and in recent months he was central to how the state handled protests, foreign tensions, and ultimately a major political crisis.

Quick Scoop: Who He Was

  • Ayatollah Ali Khamenei served as Supreme Leader of Iran from 1989 until his death in late February 2026.
  • As Supreme Leader, he was the highest religious and political authority in the Islamic Republic, outranking the president, parliament, and the regular government.
  • He controlled key levers of power: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the judiciary, state media, and major security and intelligence institutions.

In simple terms: for decades, almost every major decision on war, peace, nuclear policy, and internal repression in Iran ultimately flowed through Khamenei.

What He Did Over His Career

Rise and Role

  1. Early revolutionary figure
    • Khamenei was active against the Shah before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and worked with Ayatollah Khomeini’s movement, including propaganda and organizational work.
 * After the revolution, he held various posts and became president of Iran from 1981–1989.
  1. Becoming Supreme Leader (1989)
    • After Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini died in 1989, Khamenei was chosen by the Assembly of Experts as the new Supreme Leader.
 * Over time he consolidated power by placing loyalists in the IRGC, judiciary, and religious institutions.
  1. Building a security‑state model
    • Under his leadership, the IRGC expanded its role from a revolutionary force into a powerful military, intelligence, and economic actor across Iran and the region.
 * Khamenei backed networks of allied militias and groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine, making Iran a key regional power broker.

Domestic Politics and Repression

  • Khamenei consistently prioritized regime survival and ideological control over political liberalization.
  • He approved or tolerated crackdowns on major protest waves, including the 2009 Green Movement, the 2019 fuel protests, the 2022–2023 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, and new protests in 2025–2026.
  • He often framed unrest as being orchestrated by foreign enemies such as the United States and Israel, rather than as domestic political or economic grievances.

Example:
In January 2026, with protests over soaring inflation and a collapsing currency, Khamenei publicly distinguished between “protesters” and “rioters,” saying officials should talk to protesters but that “rioters must be controlled” or “dealt with,” signalling support for a tough crackdown.

What He Did Recently (Latest News)

Handling the 2025–2026 Protests

  • Iran entered another severe economic and political crisis around late 2025, with inflation and currency collapse sparking nationwide demonstrations.
  • Rights groups reported dozens of deaths and many arrests as security forces tried to quell the unrest.
  • Khamenei:
    • Rejected yielding to pressure from the protests, saying the Islamic Republic would not “submit to its adversaries.”
* Called demonstrators “rioters” or agents of foreign powers, particularly the United States, and urged unity against what he described as “terrorist actions.”

* Repeated his long‑standing narrative that economic turmoil and street unrest were stoked by foreign enemies, not systemic failures at home.

At the same time, President Masoud Pezeshkian tried to sound more conciliatory, acknowledging that bazaar traders and many citizens had genuine grievances, but his room to act was limited under Khamenei’s authority.

Foreign Policy and Security Stance

  • Throughout his rule, Khamenei took a hard line against the United States and Israel and backed Iran’s nuclear and regional policies as tools of deterrence and leverage.
  • Even in later years, he continued to emphasize that the US should be pushed out of the region and encouraged Iran’s armed forces to study “enemy tactics” and strengthen asymmetric capabilities.
  • He oversaw Iranian responses and proxy activity in conflicts involving Israel, Iraq, Syria, and others, often through the IRGC and regional militias.

The 2026 Crisis and His Death

  • Facing rising speculation about succession and concerns about his health, Khamenei asked the Assembly of Experts before his death to prepare for the selection of his successor, signaling that he was actively thinking about transition.
  • In the wider context of a “Twelve‑Day War” between Iran and Israel in 2025 and US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, reports indicated that he had identified several senior clerics as potential successors in case of assassination.
  • On 28 February 2026 he was killed in a series of airstrikes attributed to Israel and the United States, and Iranian authorities confirmed his death the next day.
  • His death triggered a leadership crisis in Tehran, as there was no officially announced heir and multiple possible candidates moved into contention.

This transition has become a major global story because it affects Iran’s domestic trajectory, its nuclear program, and its extensive network of regional allies and proxies.

Why People Debate “What He Did”

Different groups describe Khamenei very differently:

  • Supporters inside Iran and among allied groups see him as a steadfast revolutionary leader who resisted US and Israeli pressure, defended Iran’s independence, and helped build a regional “axis of resistance.”
  • Critics, including many dissidents and Western analysts, portray him as an authoritarian figure who presided over human rights abuses, crushed reform movements, and used ideology and security forces to maintain a narrow ruling elite.
  • Some ordinary Iranians, especially younger generations, mainly associate him with economic hardship, social restrictions, and repeated violent crackdowns on protests.

So when people online ask, “What did Ayatollah Ali Khamenei do?”, they are usually talking not about one event, but about his decades of rule: the mix of ideological leadership, repression at home, and assertive regional strategy that shaped Iran up to his death in 2026.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.